Refrigerating system



Feb. l1, 1936. l,...w. A'rcHlsoN 2,030,676

REFRIGERATING SYSTEM Filed sept. 29, 1953 l ....nuum" Inventor; Leona-rdW Atchison! Patented Feb. 1l, 1936 UNITED STATES l' PATENT OFFICE4marinai:RA'rmrc. SYSTEM Leonard W. Atchison, signor to General Elration of New York Schenectady, N. Y., 'asectric Company, acorpoyApplication september 29, 1333, serial No. 691,476

46 Claims.

f evaporators, one of which is provided with aderanged to receiveice-cream vice for displacing liquid refrigerant therefrom forthepurpose of maintaining the temperatlne thereof higher than that of theother evaporators.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds, and the. features of novelty whichcharacterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an icecreamdispensing cabinet embodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a detailsectional view of a temperature-responsive valve shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have shown an ice-cream cabinet comprisinginsulated walls I0 enclosing a chamber II in which two hollowcylindrical evaporators I2 and I3 of the iiooded type are arcontainers,access to the containers being had through openings I4 and I5,respectively, which are closed by insulated removable covers II and I1.In order to supply liquid refrigerant to the evaporators I2 and I3, Iarrange a compressor and condenser unit I8 in a compartment I9 adjacentthe walls I0 of the ice-cream cabinet. 'Refrigerant is compressed withina casing` 20 of the compressor and condenser unit I8 and ows out throughcondenser coil 2I where it is cooled and liquefied and then flows to aflow-controlling device or float valve 22, from. which the liquidrefrigerant passes in regulated quantities to a header 23 arranged in achamber 24 in the .walls I0 of the ice-cream cabinet. The liquidrefrigerant ows from the header 234 through a conduit 25 to theevaporator I3 and also to the evaporator` I2 through a connection 26which joins the evaporators I2 `and I3 at the lower portions thereof.The liquid refrigerant in the evaporators is vaporized due to theabsorption of heat from the chamber II, and the gaseous refrigerant isreturned to the Aheader 23,l the evaporator I3 being connected 'to theliquid refrigerant therein the upper portion of the header by a tube 21and the evaporator I2 being connected therewith through a tube 28, avalve chamber 29, and tube 30. The-gaseous refrigerant is withdrawn fromthe header 23 through a conduit 3| and returned to the compressor casing20 by operation of the compressor therein, so that the pressure in theevaporators is maintained low enough to vaporize at the desiredevaporator temperature.` l

It is often desirable to maintain the several cooling units orevaporators of an ice-cream cabinet at different temperatures in orderto keep the ice-cream at various desired consistencies,

'or to' provide a higher temperature compartment for storing bottledgoods or other articles, or cooling liquids on draught. In accordancewith my invention, I provide a. plurality of cooling umts within arefrigerating cabinet, one or more of which are equipped with athermostaticalljrv controlled mechanism for regulating the withdrawal ofgaseous refrigerant therefrom.- By this arrangement, the cooling unitsprovided with the regulators are maintained at a higher temperature thanthe others.

In the vembodiment of my invention shown in the drawing, I provide avalve 32 arranged in the suction line of the evaporator I2 which is tobe maintained at a higher temperature than the evaporator I3. It isevident that as the valve is closed, the refrigerant vaporized withinthe evaporator I2 will tend to force the liquid refrigerant out of theevaporator and change the level thereof, thus reducing theheat-absorbing capacity of the evaporator and raising the temperaturethereof. 'I'he valve 32 is seated in the end of the tube 28 within thechamber 29 and is actuated by a bellows 33 connected by a tube 34 to abulb 35 secured on the inner side of the evaporator I2. 'I'he bulb 35 ispartially filled with a volatile liquid, and the bellows 33 expands andcontracts with changes of temperature of the bulb 35. Valve 32 ispivoted on the end of a lever 36 which swings on a` stationary pivot 31and is held against the top of the bellows 32 by a springpressed member38. This construction is clearly shown in Fig. 2, where it can be seenthat the spring-pressed member 38 comprises a spring 39 and an adjustingscrew 40 which is sealed by a 'collapsible bellows 4| to prevent leakageof air into the low-pressure side of. the refrigerating system. Thebellows 33 is calibrated so that at a prede-` termined low temperatureit will collapse s'uicientlyto close the valve 32 and prevent furtherwithdrawal of gaseous refrigerant from the evaporator I2 through thetube 28. When the valve 32 is closed, the refrigerant vaporized in theevaporator I2 will collect and force the liquid refrigerant therein outthrough the connection 2B to the evaporator I3 and into the headerv 23,which is of a sufficient capacity to receive all of the liquid.

refrigerant-from the evaporator I2 without overflowing or raising theliquid level in the header and the evaporator I3 above the upper end ofthe suction conduit 3I. It is clear then that the evaporator I2 may bemaintained at a higher temperature than the evaporator I3. Sincethe-temperature of the evaporator I2 increases due to the furtherabsorption of -heat in the absence of liquid refrigerant, the bellows 33will expand and open the .valve 32 to permit fthe return of liquidrefrigerant. The operations of opening and closing the valve 32 willthus automatically main- I tain the evaporator I2 at a predeterminedtemperature higher than that of the evaporator I3, the screw beingprovided to adjust the temperature range of the evaporator I2.

During the operation of a refrigerator system shownv in Fig. 1?,ice-cream containers or other articles to be cooled are placed in thecabinet II within the evaporators I2 and I3, the articles to be kept ata higher temperature being placed in the evaporator I2. Liquidrefrigerant will be supplied from the compressor and condenser unit I8through a float valve 22 in regulated quantities, and a predeterminedquantity will be maintained in the header 23 and the evaporators I2 andI3.

Liquid refrigerant will be vaporized due to the absorptionl of heat bythe articles Within the evaporators, and the gaseous refrigerant willpass out to the header 23 'from which it will be withdrawn through' thesuction conduit 3 I When the temperature of the evaporator I2 has beenreduced to a predetermined lower limit, the bellows 33 will becontracted sufficiently to close the valve 32 and prevent the removal ofgas from the evapo.

and it will vtherefore continue to absorb heat and to maintain thearticles placed within the evaporator I3 at a considerably lowertemperature than -that of the articles placed within the evaporator I2.v

It is apparent from the foregoing that I have provided a simple,effective, and easily adjustable refrigerating system having evaporatorsoperating at different temperatures.

While I have described. a particular embodiment of my inventionasapplied to an ice-cream cabinet. 'cooled by a-compressionrefrigerating system, various modifications will readily be apparent tothose skilled in the art,b and I do not desire my invention to belimited to the particular embodiment shown and described, and I intendin Upon a predethe appended claims to cover all modifications within thespirit and scope of my invention. I

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

- 1. A refrigerating system including a plurality of floodedevaporators, a conduit connecting the lowermost portion of one of saidevaporators to the others, means for supplying liquid refrigerant tosaid evaporators, means forv withdrawing ,gaseous ,refrigerant fromsaid"`evapbrators, and means controlling the withdrawal- `of gaseousrefrigerant from one of said evaporators for maintaining said oneevaporator at a predetermined temperature higher than that of the othersof said evaporators.

2. A refrigerating system including a plurality -of flooded evaporators,a single header for said evaporators, means for supplying refrigerant tosaid evaporators, means connecting said evaporators to said header forwithdrawing gaseous refrigerant from said evaporators, and meansincluding av valve controlling the withdrawal of gaseous refrigerantfrom one'of said evaporators for maintaining said one evaporator at apredetermined temperature higher than that of the others of saidevaporators. v

3. A refrigerating system including a plurality of ooded evaporators,means for supplying liquid refrigerant to said evaporators, means forwithdrawing gaseous refrigerant from said evaporators, and means forcingliquid from one of said evaporators and lowering the level of liquidrefrigerant therein for maintaining said one evaporator at apredetermined temperature higher than that of the others of saidevaporators.

4. A refrigerating system including a plurality of flooded evaporators,means for supplying liquid refrigerant to said evaporators, means forwithdrawing gaseous refrigerant from said evaporators, and means forcingsubstantially all of the liquid refrigerant from one of said evaporatorsfor maintaining said one evaporator at a predetermined temperaturehigher than that of the others of said evaporators.

5. A refrigerating system including a plurality of flooded evaporators,a header for said evaporators, means for supplying liquid refrigerant tosaid header and to said evaporators, means connecting said evaporatorsand said header for withdrawing gaseous refrigerant from saidevaporators, and means forcing liquid refrigerant out of one of saidevaporators and forcing liquid refrigerant into said header formaintaining said one evaporator at a predetermined temperature. higherthan that of said others of said evaporators.

6. A refrigerating system including a plurality of ooded evaporators, aheader for said evaporators, means for supplying liquid refrigerant tosaid header and to said evaporators, means including conduits connectingsaid'evaporators and said header for withdrawing gaseous refrigerantfrom said evaporator, and'means including a valve responsive to thetemperature of one of said evaporators and arranged in one ofsaidconduits .for

maintaining said one evaporator aty a predetermined temperature higherthan that of the others of said evaporators. I

. LEONARD W. ATCHISON.

D I SOLAI M E R 2,030,676.*Leonard W. Atchison, Schenectady,

N. Y. REFRIGRATING SYSTEM. Patent dated February 11, 1936.

Disclaimer led February 1, 1939, by the assignee, General ElectricCompany.

Hereby enters this disclaimer of claims 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of saidpatent.

` [Ocz'al Gazette February 21, 1989.] l

